WATCH | How Ramaphosa's Phala Phala saga has unfolded so far

On June 1, Arthur Fraser — the former head of the State Security Agency — dropped a bomb when he laid criminal charges against President Cyril Ramaphosa over an alleged burglary at his Phala Phala game farm in February 2020. 

Fraser alleged Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm was burgled of $4m (about R71.8m) in cash by two foreign nationals. The $4m was alleged to be stuffed in couches inside Ramaphosa’s home.

He went on to say that Ramaphosa’s security tracked down the suspects, kidnapped them, paid them off for their silence and concealed the event from the police and the public. 

At first, Ramaphosa laughed off the allegations and spoke freely when addressing the event. “I'm a farmer," he said. "I'm in the cattle business and the game business. All of this was money from proceeds from selling animals.

"I have never stolen money from anywhere. And the amount involved is far less than what has been bandied in the press. I want to say it's far less.”

But three days later, during a press conference in Cape Town, a visibly tired Ramaphosa would withdraw from answering any questions around Phala Phala. 

Journalist: “Why would you store so much cash in foreign currency in your game farm?”

Ramaphosa: “We would like to leave this whole matter of the robbery to the due process.”

Journalist: “How will this impact your efforts to get re-elected as ANC president?”

Ramaphosa: “That is a matter that needs to be discussed as part of the whole process.”

Journalist: “What do you say to a South African who now has a president who's been accused of being a potential money launderer?”

Ramaphosa: “We did say that the due process also needs to be observed.”

The pressure was not only mounting from the press. Opposition parties were demanding answers too, some, like Julius Malema, were calling for him to step-aside during an EFF press conference on June 7.

“We don't want the president to address the budget on Thursday [June 8] because the president must be at the police station explaining himself. Parliament is not a place of criminals.”

Ramaphosa did address the budget on June 8 but was interrupted multiple times by EFF MPs, delaying the event by over an hour until the MPs were forceable removed by security.

On her way out of parliament, EFF MP Natasha Ntlangwini said: “We are not scared. We are going to come fore them. We have 44 members of parliament. There will be no rest for Cyril in this house.”

Silence around Phala Phala continued until August 30, when during a Q&A session with Ramaphosa parliament refused to take the president's “due process needs to be followed” answer.

EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu pleaded with speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for Ramaphosa to answer the questions around Phala Phala. “There is no law that permits him to avoid this question,” he said . “So he must respond to the question about what happened in Phala Phala.”

Steven Swart from the ACDP also made it clear that the president had to answer the question. “You have got a question on on the order paper that has been correctly put on the order paper that has not been answered, and that is the crux of the issue. He needs to answer it,” said Swart.

“All that needs to happen now, speaker, instead of allowing the running commentary on this issue, is put the question to the president. [Ramaphosa's] response saying, ‘I'm not going to answer’ is not an answer,” said the UDM's Nqabayomzi Kwankwa.

The Q&A session was halted by Mapisa-Nqakula and the parliamentary chief whips met to decide on a date and time when Ramaphosa will have to answer the Phala Phala question. 

Ramaphosa will return to parliament on Thursday and is expected to face tough questions on the Phala Phala issue. 

Political analysts believe Phala Phala is part of a bigger political battle within the ANC ahead of their national conference at the end of the year.  

It is believed Fraser, who dropped the Phala Phala bombshell, is on former president Jacob Zuma’s faction attempting to win power back from Ramaphosa.​ 

In addition to this Q&A session, Mapisa-Nqakula has appointed a separate, independent panel to investigate whether Ramaphosa should face impeachment over Phala Phala.

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